In short: Great experience but perhaps too large a raceIn full: A (too) warm day gave the day a special feel. Crowd support was amazing, but I welcomed the mile or so on the Lower Bristol Road where there were no spectators as it gave me a chance to watch my pace (the crowd support and music meant my pace was faster than I had planned). Good water and Lucozade stops. There were parts of the route that became too narrow, and too many cones on the road, and some runners stumbled over them. Goodie bag contained a welcome Mars bar (which, despite the heat, was nice and cold), an Eat Natural bar, nuts, and a T-shirt, plus the medal. However, despite finishing just under 2 hours, I was only offered a large t-shirt - more like a dress. I suppose I will use it pre-race another time! Would i do it again? Not sure, as I prefer smaller races, although I did love the support, which kept me going. It was mainly flat, with some small undulating parts, which kept it interesting, so the course suited me (and I liked the fact that it was two loops). However, I will see what other half marathons are available before making up my mind.Date of review: March 12, 2012

In short: Busy but niceIn full: All in all thought it was great, loads of toilets, easy bag drop off, got in on the park and ride easy enough. I thought the course was fast and an amazing atmosphere although the weather probably helped in that, a great turnout by Bath.My only grumble being that I started in the green pen and was overtaking a load of white pen people within the 1st half mile and I didn't go off sprinting, I pretty much hit my time as specified. Bearing in mind I thought the the white pen was Elite/sub 1.30 there was no way a lot of the people in there were going to do that so just slowed up a lot of people behind.

In short: Very pleasantly surprised...have already entered next years!!!In full: I'd heard horror stories about this race on previous RW postings, and it was nothing like people had described!!! Lovely race with a brilliant atomosphere, well organised for a big city event. Hardly queued at all for the loo/bags etc (although lots of people seemed to be queuing for bags when there was no need to!!). I know its expensive but you get a lovely medal and goody bag. Well done Bath - See you next year!Date of review: March 12, 2012

In short: Crowded, not great marshelling but excellent crowdsIn full: Bath is well known for its great atmosphere and crowd support and it didn't let me down in that respect.

The course is not as flat as the organisers make out, there is one hill at the beginning of each lap, luckily the samba band gave me the push I needed to keep running up the hill! There is a slight climb in the middle of each lap as well but that wasn't too bad.

I don't understand why there were so many cones in the middle of the road especially at the beginning....they were a real hazard & seemed totally pointless. When emergency vehicles needed to drive down the route, the runners should have all been kept to the left hand side but it was different each time and the marshals were pretty useless in dealing with this....we were herded right then left then right again & that just caused confusion and a delay in the vehicles being able to get through.There was a real bottleneck at the start but we'd allowed enough time. The finish was pretty well organised although I didn't get asked what size t-shirt, just got handed a bag & it had a large (I had requested small) so that's a shame.

Overall it is a good race, great for beginners and experienced runners, although quite crowded making it difficult to get a pb for faster runners.

In short: Fantastic race, would definitely do it again!In full: This was my first time and i extremely enjoyed the race. The marchalling was great and there were plenty of drink stops. Would definitely recommend doing this again.Date of review: March 12, 2012

In short: A fun race with exceptional crowdsIn full: Yes it's busy, but there's no problem if you turn up early and actually listen to the instructions telling you to head for the start.

There probably are too many runners for the width of the course at certain points, but when it opens up it's actually quite quick.

The best bit of today was the constant support all the way around, especially the various bands dotted around the course. The crowds were really noisy and always willing to cheer on a flagging runner even if they didn't know them. Well done all of you!

Overall, probably not the best race for someone aiming for a particularly quick time, but good fun nonetheless. Date of review: March 11, 2012

In short: Great CrowdsIn full: My first half. Was busy so probably difficult for a PB if you are fast (fine if you are a slower runner like me). Best crowds of any race I have done. Glad I had my name on my shirt - the crowds really got me home! Excellent medal and T-shirt. Excellent marshals and I thought well organised. Expensive but I think you get what you pay for.Date of review: March 11, 2012